Lab news

Troubled HIV drug developer Avexa may be poised for yet another coup after major shareholder Caldaza this week called for an extraordinary general meeting to discuss the future of the company

It took nearly two decades to go from the release of the first semi-automated genome sequencer in the mid-1980s to the launch of Roche's flagship 454 FLX next generation sequencer in 2005. The 454 is now one of three major players in the next gen market whose impact on the world of genomics cannot be underestimated. Just five years later we are poised to embrace another new wave of sequencing technology.

Regenerative medicine specialists Mesoblast today reported a net loss of $14.8 million for the full year ended 30 June 2010, an increase on the previous year’s loss of $12.3 million.

Melbourne biotech Clinuvel announced today that it plans to conduct clinical trials of its UV protection drug Scenesse as a treatment for the skin pigmentation disorder vitiligo.

Regenerative medicine specialists Mesoblast announced this week that it has convened an extraordinary general meeting with shareholders to vote on the proposed acquisition of the company’s US partner Angioblast Systems.

Troubled drug developer and healthcare provider Sigma Pharmaceuticals finally put an end to months of speculation today declaring that it would recommend shareholders accept an offer from Aspen Pharmacare to buy its pharmaceuticals business for $900 million.

Regenerative medicine specialists Mesoblast today announced that it has provided market guidance to the FDA regarding its Phase 3 bone marrow transplantation program, which it hopes will create more options for patients as well as a reduction in incidences of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).

Scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) have completed a study showing that cells which lead to inflammation in fat tissue may be a primary cause of insulin resistance in sufferers of diabetes.

Melbourne biotech Patrys has appointed renowned medical academic Dr Marie Roskrow as its Chief Medical Officer and President.

When it comes to growing cells in a lab, technique matters.

Physics and biology have come together to solve one of science's big issues - the structure of membrane proteins - through the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coherent X-ray Science.

US company Thermo Fisher Scientific has achieved a number of breakthroughs in RNAi technology in the last couple of years and says it has come up with another - a method for delivering siRNAs to all cells, even the tough ones.

Rightly or wrongly, concerns over GM crops contaminating their non-GM kin have led to a stalemate in progress towards acceptance of GM crops and foods. We look at a new approach using gene silencing and gene imprinting.

Deciphering vertebrate development, sorting out the roosters from the hens and taking on bird flu - dare we say, all in one fowl swoop - that is the job of CSIRO's Dr Mark Tizard, who has created a new microRNA catalogue for the humble chook.

Tom Gonda has taken a robotic approach to functional genomics.

Biochemical geneticist Kevin Carpenter discusses how he helped tracked down the blip in the Bindeez beads.